HealthStar Home Health to Hold

Free Memory Screenings at the

MN State Fair

Event Stresses Importance of

Proper Detection and Treatment

Last year HealthStar performed more than 3,200 memory screenings at the fair. If you are concerned about your memory, you are not alone. Face-to-face memory screenings average three minutes and consist of questions and tasks to assess memory. Individuals can take advantage of free, confidential memory screenings provided by HealthStar Home Health, as part of raising community awareness and providing public education on Alzheimer’s and dementia. HealthStar & the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America encourages screenings for adults with memory concerns, a family history of Alzheimer’s disease or those who want to check their memory now and have the results for future comparison. Warning signs of dementia include forgetting people’s names/events, asking repetitive questions and confusion over daily routines.

FREE Screenings to be held August 25 – September 5

from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM in the

East Crossroads Auditorium/ Health Fair 11 Bldg.

(Corner of Dan Patch & Cooper)

As many as 70% of families affected by dementia are choosing to keep their loved ones at home for as long as possible, while managing the different stages. Family and caregiver burnout rises dramatically when faced with this disease. HealthStar’s Alzheimer’s & Dementia program provides both in and out of home support to families and caregivers dealing with challenging behaviors associated with the disease. Changes in healthcare, due to high prevalence, allow our nursing experts to provide training, education and non-pharmacologic behavior assistance in the home, which is 100% covered by traditional Medicare and most insurance plans. Memory loss screenings are the first step toward detection and treatment.

Additional Resources

Voices of Those Diagnosed with Dementia

Dementia Chats™ was created with the intention to educate people living with dementia; their care partners both family and friends as well as professionals and advocates. Our Experts are those diagnosed with dementia. We have been doing this series since July of 2012, but given we changed platforms in 2016, only those videos are listed below.

Wicker Introduces Bill to Help Combat Alzheimer’s Disease

Legislation Would Award Prizes for Breakthroughs in Research, Detection, and Cures

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today unveiled his legislation to create prize-based incentives to encourage more public-private collaboration in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia. The “Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer’s (EUREKA) Act” would not replace other funding and research initiatives for Alzheimer’s but add another route for breakthroughs. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Angus King, I-Maine, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.

“America has always been the home of groundbreaking innovation,” Wicker said. “We compete to create, build, and make a difference in people’s lives. The ‘EUREKA Act’ seeks to channel this pioneering spirit through competition to help us better understand, detect, and ultimately cure Alzheimer’s disease. Given today’s budget constraints, it is important to find a way to supplement existing funds to further this critical research.”

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has set a goal of curing Alzheimer’s by 2025. Today, Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in America and has a 100 percent fatality rate. According to a report released earlier this year, caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is estimated to cost the United States $226 billion in 2015, with one in five Medicare dollars spent on an Alzheimer’s victim. Unless a cure is found, treatment costs are expected to grow to an estimated $1.1 trillion by 2050. In Mississippi, 12 percent of senior citizens have Alzheimer’s. The number of victims is expected to rise 27.5 percent by 2025, increasing from 51,000 to 65,000.

The EUREKA Act is an important step in the right direction. It will spark smart public-private partnerships and leverage America’s best minds toward ending this cruel disease once and for all.

We can make sure it passes and make real progress toward a cure – but only if you speak out today.

Wicker’s legislation is supported by the XPRIZE Foundation, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s Association, Eli Lilly and Company, BrightFocus Foundation, and the MIND Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“This legislation, which will reward researchers who meet certain milestones in Alzheimer’s disease drug development with cash prizes, will help spur innovation and accelerate discovery of a cure or disease modifying treatment,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. “We, as a nation, still must work to make Alzheimer’s disease research a national priority and make it’s funding on par with other major disease states.”

“We applaud Senator Wicker for advancing an innovative approach to preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025,” said George Vradenburg, Founder and Chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “The EUREKA Act would spark smart public-private partnerships to leverage America’s best minds with the great work at NIH in a fiscally responsible manner. We look forward to working with Senator Wicker to advance the EUREKA Act into law.”

“An advance in Alzheimer’s research has the potential both to save millions of lives and billions of dollars for the nation’s public health programs,” said Robert Egge, Executive Vice President of Alzheimer’s Association. “With the cooperation of the medical and research communities, we are at a tipping point. We have the ideas, the technology and the will, but we need a focused commitment from the federal government, including robust support for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health.”

“This is a time of great and deserved hope in dementia as Congress and the National Institutes of Health have begun to address chronic underfunding of research,” said Ian Kremer, Executive Director of Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease. “The Act’s focus on pay for success highlights that we need not only more research but better research, research that changes the lives of people living with dementia today and that reduces or eliminates the risk of people having to live with dementia in the future.”

“Senator Wicker has been a champion for Alzheimer’s research and related public health policy,” said Patty Dunn, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association Mississippi Chapter. “We applaud his commitment to support a robust National Alzheimer’s Plan by cosponsoring the successful Alzheimer’s Accountability Act and encouraging increased research funding for the National Institutes of Health. Our advocates work closely with his office and appreciate Senator Wicker’s introduction of the innovative EUREKA Act and its goal of advancing research breakthroughs for Alzheimer’s disease.”

The EUREKA Act would authorize the Director of the NIH to work with other federal agencies to establish prize challenges informed by the research milestones contained in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. Challenges could focus in a number of areas including:

Identification and validation of Alzheimer’s biomarkers;
Development of non-invasive and cost-effective early detection and diagnostic tools;
Repurposing of existing drugs to address Alzheimer’s disease; and
Development of new tools and approaches to care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

An advisory council that would include experts in organizing and managing such challenges as well as patient advocates and industry representatives will be constituted to determine the competitions, while a separate judging panel will evaluate submissions and make recommendations for awards to the Director of NIH.

Prize challenges enable government sponsors to pay only when a prize team achieves specified goals or milestones. Although funds will be authorized and reserved for awards, prizes will only be granted when teams achieve clearly defined objectives, making the EUREKA Act a cost-effective tool to support the pursuit of the 2025 goal. Additionally, EUREKA would permit the receipt of donations from the private sector and from individuals to fund the competition and build the award fund.

We can make sure it passes and make real progress toward a cure – but only if you speak out today.

Sky Factory Offers Relaxation & Comfort

In A Variety Of Environments

Today we have Ray Ward from the Sky Factory, who will share this fabulous technology which creates a relaxing environment most anywhere. Here from Deb Bland with Polar Ridge to her thoughts as a Marketing Director of an Assisted Living and Memory Care Community.

New Alzheimer’s and Dementia Film,

“His Neighbor Phil,” Announces Release

Realistic and Heartwarming Storyline

Touching Families Far and Wide

A new film spotlighting the effects of Alzheimer’s disease is set to make its debut on August 29th in Minneapolis.

His Neighbor Phil, produced by My Town Pictures, tells the story of Harvey and his wife Mary, who suffers from early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Mary’s memory loss and seeming obsession with their neighbor makes Harvey question his marriage. Through a touching twist, Harvey discovers the secret to bringing his beloved Mary back into the present.

Written and directed by Scott Thompson, His Neighbor Phil also highlights the impact Alzheimer’s disease has on the family as a whole, not just the primary caregiver. His Neighbor Phil will debut Saturday, August 29th at a private screening at the Music Box Theatre in Minneapolis.

The film not only was produced in the small town of Zumbrota, Minnesota, but citizens of Zumbrota banded together to fund the majority of the film, provide meals and lodging to the cast and crew, and even had local actors take significant roles in the movie itself.

Click Above To Watch The Trailer

The production also was funded significantly by a coalition of Alzheimer’s, dementia and memory care related agencies including principal sponsor SYNERGY HomeCare, a national non-medical in-home care franchise organization. Additional funding and enormous support came from HealthStar Home Health and Alzheimer’s Speaks, where the idea to form a coalition of sponsors began. The Lutheran Home Association and Saint Therese senior care and communitieswere also key parts of the coalition dedicated to bringing this movie and its important message to the public. Additional sponsors are: Avinity Senior Living, Country Meadows Retirement Communities, KeyStone Senior Living, LeadingAge GA and Senior Care Authority. Additional organizations are already expressing interest in joining the collaboration.

Healthcare experts weigh in on His Neighbor Phil:

“I LOVED this film…there were so many relatable, funny, poignant, humorous, heartbreaking and hopeful moments all captured within the fabric of a single family trying to stay connected to each other and their community through the power of music and love. You will recognize your loved one, your family, your friends and yourself somewhere in this film. I laughed, cried, cringed and cheered. It’s a must-see!”

“This moving film shows the need for family and friends to rally together to help each other deal with Alzheimer’s disease, motivates our researchers to continue to develop promising treatments and methods of prevention and emphasizes the necessity to support research at centers such as ours.” – William H. Frey II, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Research Director, HealthPartners Center for Memory & Aging

““His Neighbor Phil” is a love story wrapped up in the complexity of a disease that shows no mercy. It’s real. It’s raw and yet through all of the trials and tribulations, it provides hope.” – Josie Di Chiara, Senior Vice President, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

“Alzheimer’s doesn’t just impact the affected; the disease takes a devastating toll on caregivers and the family as a whole. “His Neighbor Phil” accurately depicts that impact. It may provide some validation for Alzheimer’s patients and families and help them realize they’re not alone.” – Peter Tourian, Founder and CEO of SYNERGY HomeCare

““His Neighbor Phil” is indeed a great film and right on the money for accuracy in typical ‘key players’ and behaviors, reactions, approaches, beliefs, and common concerns regarding dementia. I am sure ‘first timers’ as well as those who have made their journey will resonate with the film allowing new conversations to happen, awareness to grow, and belief that we can CHOOSE to make a positive difference in how people living with dementia are able to live their lives.” – Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA Dementia Care & Training Specialist

“And also as someone who was diagnosed with dementia myself 7 years ago aged just 50 it resonated and touched me so much. It’s so refreshing to see such a positive ending at the end when many of these films are not. It’s a film not only for carers, but also for those with early to mid-stage dementia to enjoy. It’s also a story of hope and important family values, through thick and thin times, thoroughly enjoyable.”

In 2004, My Town Pictures began producing original feature-length films in communities of any size and anywhere, as an opportunity for those communities to experience the creative excitement of making a movie in their own hometown. More than fifty films later, My Town Pictures remains dedicated to that mission. For more information, please visit www.mytownpictures.com

HealthStar Home Health

to Hold Free Memory Screenings

at the MN State Fair

Event Stresses Importance of

Proper Detection and Treatment

Concerned About Your Memory?

Face-to-face memory screenings average three minutes and consist of questions and tasks to assess memory. Individuals can take advantage of free, confidential memory screenings provided by HealthStar Home Health, as part of raising community awareness and providing public education on Alzheimer’s and dementia. HealthStar & the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America encourages screenings for adults with memory concerns, a family history of Alzheimer’s disease or those who want to check their memory now and have the results for future comparison. Warning signs of dementia include forgetting people’s names/events, asking repetitive questions and confusion over daily routines.

FREE Screenings to be held

August 27 – September 7 from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

in the East Crossroads Auditorium/ Health Fair 11 Bldg.

(Corner of Dan Patch & Cooper).

As many as 70% of families affected by dementia are choosing to keep their loved ones at home for as long as possible, while managing the different stages. Family and caregiver burnout rises dramatically when faced with this disease. HealthStar’s Alzheimer’s & Dementia program provides both in and out of home support to families and caregivers dealing with challenging behaviors associated with the disease. Changes in healthcare, due to high prevalence, allow our nursing experts to provide training, education and non-pharmacologic behavior assistance in the home, which is 100% covered by traditional Medicare and most insurance plans. Memory loss screenings are the first step toward detection and treatment.

About HealthStar Home Health

HealthStar Home Health is a Medicare Certified Agency providing Alzheimer’s and dementia programs focused on care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses, and their families or caregivers. For additional help and resources or to find out more about Becoming an Alzheimer’s Whisperer, call 877-600-7307 or visit www.HealthStarHomeHealth.net

Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio -Tuesday June 23rd, 2015

11am EST, 10am CST, 9am MST, 8am PST and 4pm London Time

Join Us to Discuss Dementia/Care Farms Plus The Author Of “Don’t Leave Yet”

Welcome to Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio. We are thrilled you are going to join us. Please know on all of our shows we love to hear from our listeners. So feel free to call in or use the chat box to talk to us.

Today we have Maarten Fischer a Dutch Native who moved to Montana and will explain the concept of Dementia/Care Farms. Maarten has been involved in “Multifunctional Agriculture,” including “Care Farms.” In the Netherlands they are the largest sources of day programs with over 1500 farms empowering 30.000 clients on an annually. Contact Maarten via: Website or call 406-752-3697

Also joining the conversation will be Eilon Caspi Ph.D., Gerontologist & Dementia Behavior Specialist. Check his Websiteor his blog

Our second guest will be Constance Hanstedt author of “Don’t Leave Yet, How My Mother’s Alzheimer’s Opened My Heart,” which was named a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards for memoir. Contact Constance